Bunty Is Rising in the Internal Forces of the Police Department

A significant unrest is developing within various departments of the police force. Over the past two weeks, Yerevan.Today has received numerous reports from citizens, mainly identifying themselves as wives, daughters, or friends of police officers, indicating serious tension within the system.

A wave of dissatisfaction has especially arisen among the officers of the Main Department of State Protection and the internal troops. These are the units that were withdrawn from public demonstrations due to public outcry following the signing of the act of capitulation.

Police officers are complaining about an unjustified ultra-stress regime, excessive notifications of alerts, and believe they have become prisoners of Nikol Pashinyan's whims. They have promised to leave the system in large groups and make a public statement if this continues. However, in response to the media's skepticism about taking decisive action, family members have made absurd "revelations." It turns out that high-ranking officials in the police are blaming the so-called "former ones" for creating a deep crisis and, meanwhile, spreading hatred towards the opposition that opposed Pashinyan.

According to police command, if officers are deployed to the streets for four months, this is not a whim of Nikol Pashinyan. They claim there is a misunderstanding that they are ensuring Pashinyan's safe movements, and that is why they are frequently under "trivoga" (alert). They have motivated that the frequent alarm sounds are solely due to opposition rallies, as the opposition, according to them, does not respect the police and disregards the wasted resources of the state, as well as the weekends of police officers.

They acknowledge that it is unprecedented to have such a massive police presence repeatedly deployed for daily tense operations, but they again blame the "authors of the 30 years of looting" for the heavy regime of service.

“Our husbands have become toys... We are tired of the aggressive regime, how long can this continue? There have been cases where they have been on service for up to 72 hours, they don't come home for days, and they have no chance to rest. And even if they are released, they still have no time to manage household responsibilities. The few extra dollars they receive become just a laugh. Neither the men come home, nor do we see any money... And for whom, we do not know.

Poor souls, before they reach home, receive new orders in the bath, hastily dressing and rushing to service, for what? For whose fears are we subjected to daily terror at home? Can someone finally help us with our families or not...? Within the system, they are rebelling, saying, ‘Write your report and go,’ with little regard for the officer's badge. If police officers do not unite, one day our patience might burst, and we may go out to the streets with our families. We will not allow ourselves and our husbands to be humiliated in such a stupid way,” family members share with us in impressive terms, emphasizing that many of their husbands who have worked in heavy conditions for four months have contracted and overcome the coronavirus while on duty due to their weakened immunity.

“It’s a verdict — one day they will get sick and leave the system, or in the best case, the situation will explode with a new uprising,” says another.

Note: Following the infamous night of November 9 when the act was signed, police forces with special troops from the NSS have been intensely deployed to the streets of Yerevan for four months under the pretext of maintaining public order. However, in reality, Nikol Pashinyan is using this enormous resource to serve his personal fears and whims. At least 2,000-3,000 personnel are deployed to the streets every time to ensure Pashinyan's 50-meter safe walks. The most recent such incident was the visit to the third Government building, just a hundred steps away behind the Government building, where for a half-hour visit to the Ministry of Environment, an entire day was spent with NSS Alpha units, Internal Troops, and special forces cordoning off the government buildings and surrounding parks to safely escort Pashinyan a few meters away.

And so, under these conditions, Nikol Pashinyan regularly finds himself “armed” with a police and NSS force of several thousand and appears in places like Yerablur, marches on Miasnikyan Street, and at Q&A sessions with the government in Parliament, wherever he wishes.